Anti-abortion movements

Pro-life or anti-abortionmovements[1] are involved in the abortion debate and advocate against both the practice of abortion and its legality. Modern pro-life movements generally began as countermovements in response to the decriminalization and legalization of elective abortion in various countries.

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Many of the terms used in the debate are seen as political framing: they are terms used to validate one's own stance while invalidating the opposition's. For example, the labels "pro-choice" and "pro-life" imply endorsement of widely held values such as liberty and freedom, while suggesting that the opposition must be "anti-choice" or "anti-life" (alternatively "pro-coercion" or "pro-death").[2] The Associated Press favors the terms "abortion rights" and "anti-abortion" instead.[3]

In Europe, abortion has been legalized through parliamentary acts. In Western Europe this has had the effect at once of both more closely regulating the use of abortion, and at the same time mediating and reducing the impact anti-abortion campaigns have had on the law.[4]

The first specifically pro-life organization in France, Laissez-les-vivre-SOS futures mères, was created in 1971 during the debate that was to lead to the Veil Law in 1975. Its main spokesman was the geneticist Jérôme Lejeune. Since 2005, the French pro-life movement has organized an annual March for Life in Paris, drawing an estimated 16,000 demonstrators.[5]

In Liechtenstein an application to legalize abortions was rejected by a slim majority in a referendum in 2011. The opponents, which included Prince Alois, got 500 votes more and eventually settle at 52.3 percent compared with 47.7 percent.[7]

Prince Alois had announced the use of his veto in advance if necessary to prevent the introduction of abortion.[8]

In Spain, over one million demonstrators took part in a march in Madrid in October 2009 to protest plans by the government of José Luis Zapatero to legalize elective abortions and eliminate parental consent restrictions.[9]

In 2010 1,067,315 Spaniards signed a petition against the liberal abortion policy of the socialist government. The petition was launched by the organizations "Derecho a vivir" (right to life) and "Hazteoir" (Let your voice be heard).[10]

In Israel, the major pro-life organization is Efrat.[12] Efrat activists primarily raise funds to relieve the "financial and social pressures" on pregnant women so that they will not terminate their pregnancies.[13] Efrat is not known to do any other kind of activism.[12]

^Outshoorn, Joyce (1996). "The stability of compromise: Abortion politics in Western Europe". In Marianne Givens and Dorothy M. Stetson. Abortion politics: public policy in cross-cultural perspective. Routledge. p. 161. ...parliamentary decision are sustained by political parties which, in comparison to the United States, are deeply rooted in European society. The political parties have managed to regulate and pacify the political reform process, which in the decision-making stage marginalized opposition outside parliament.